Wasting Time in a Train Station

There isn't really a lot to do in a train station. There might be a couple of shops, a small store, maybe a cafe; that's about it unless it's in a major city and then it's like a small mall. We just killed two hours in the train station in Padova on our way to Florence. While we were reading, typing, and watching a movie there were a couple of guys playing electronic slot machines. I found myself watching them play over and over. It was weird. I wasted almost as much time as they did and I still cannot tell you how those slots worked. I don't mean electronically, I assume that's some sort of super computer throwing out random combinations on the five screen slots. I also assume the company that makes them can program the computers to only win like once every 30 days. I mean I cannot tell what combinations of fruit and/or scary faces was a winning combination. They actually did win a couple of times, but I'm pretty sure they weren't in the black. No one has ever complimented me on my superior math skills, "Wow that's a really nice set of quadratic formulas you got there." But statistically speaking, one of them was there for two hours and I know he fed a lot more in than he ever got out. I kept thinking what a huge waste of money and time that was for him. Then I realized I kept watching him play too, not just the five or six other random guys who were all watching one of them play; so, I had wasted almost as much time. I wasted two Euros on the slots too. I made a new friend in the train station. I had already seen her arguing with the bathroom attendant about why she shouldn't have to pay .60c to use the bathroom. The whole thing took place in Italian, but I feel pretty good about my ability to interpret arguments. I could especially read the attendant's eye roll that meant he had this conversation a lot, possibly repeatedly with her because she may or may not be homeless and hanging out at the train station a lot. She had been wandering around striking up random conversations with other people and then hitting them up for money. So I was less than surprised when she asked me about my iPad and introduced herself. (Fun Fact: She also told me the Italians don't like her because she is half black; later she told me she was Italian.) Followed quickly with a story about needing to take her medicine with milk and could I spare some money. I gave her a 2 Euro coin. She wandered off for a few minutes then came back and played the slots and lost immediately. Shocking right? I thought for sure she would spend it on milk (alcohol)! I also interpreted from the other argument that she might actually need to be on medication, but is not. So that's how I wasted time and money on Sunday in the train station in Padova, Italy. I just realized, that means I was essentially gambling vicariously on a Sunday. Does that make it worse? Does is take into account my "charitable" act of giving her money for "milk"? I will ask one of the priests or nuns on the street when I get to Rome and let you know.